NEWPORT, Tenn. — A Newport coffee shop is back open thanks to the work of local residents, the shop's owners said.
Corey and Melissa Ackerman own Snowbird Mountain Coffee Co. Almost two weeks ago, downtown Newport saw intense flooding, and almost all downtown businesses had severe damage.
The Ackerman's shop had nearly 2 feet of water in it during the flooding.
“It was just a bunch of mud and destruction, said Melissa. "And it was really hard. Not just to see our business down here affected but everybody’s.”
The coffee shop is the couple's livelihood, and the destruction was heartbreaking, they said.
“It legitimately felt like mourning the loss of a loved one or maybe like a pet or something," Corey said. "It had that same feeling. When you start a small business, you put so much of your time and effort and energy into growing it into something. And this is what we do. It’s all we do.”
But as Saturday passed the sun came out, the couple said.
“On Sunday morning, the sun came up. And in downtown, there was nothing but people working and helping and volunteers. It was heavy but it was promising," Melissa said.
Residents helped shovel mud and debris out of the coffee shop, making what the Ackermans thought would be a months-long clean-up job take less than two weeks.
To try and give back to their community, the couple has reopened the shop under a "pay what you can" model. They want the shop to be a place where residents can escape from the hardship of the last two weeks.
"Everybody is going through so much day in and day out," Melissa said.
What started out as a Facebook post about the new model has turned into a cross-country labor of love. The Ackermans posted on Facebook that they would also be doing a "hanging coffee" program - which they said is "coffee world slang" for paying it forward.
But followers on social media loved the idea, and since then, they've received numerous donations from all over the country. The money goes to the shop so they can continue to give out free coffee and hot meals to those who are in need.
The couple said anyone who is in need or wants to escape from the world should feel free to come in and ask for a hanging coffee. The drink will be on the house, no questions asked.